Nasarawa Assembly Crisis: Let Court Decide, Stakeholders Reply APC

The Concerned Nasarawa All Progressive Congress Stakeholders (CASNS) have described one of the factional Speakers of the state assembly, Hon Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi as an impostor.

This was contained in a statement signed by Yusuf Ibrahim on Wednesday.

Following the crisis rocking the state House of Assembly, the group, has maintained that Daniel Ogazi remains the authentic Speaker in line with democracy practices unless proven otherwise by the court.

Recall, the Nasarawa State House of Assembly has been grappling with leadership crisis since the inauguration of the 7th Assembly following the emergence of two speakers.

While Alhaji Abdullahi was elected at a sitting that took place at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs by 11 out of 24 members, Daniel Ogazi was elected by 13 out of 24 members at the plenary at the state’s assembly complex.

But in a statement obtained by THE WHISTLER, the group stated that the court will determine who is the true Speaker between Ogbu and Abdullahi.

The statement read in part, “Unless otherwise determined by the Court, Ogazi Remains the authentic Speaker In Line With Best Democratic Practices.

“The position taken by the leadership of our party in the state arising from the resolution of its stakeholders, even though with the glaring exclusion of other major stakeholders which we consider deliberate, hence the governor’s apology on behalf of the party, a resolution to allow the rule of law prevail while the party intervenes to find a lasting solution to the Assembly impasse is a patriotic step taken to deepen unity in our party for future engagements and elections. This is intandem with our position.

“It is no news that the Speaker Daniel Ogah Ogazi led the majority of the Assembly, dissatisfied with the brazing disregard to rule of law by the Balarabe group and his continuous impostor as Speaker of the 7th Assembly, has sought the court to stop him from parading self as Speaker, an issue that still awaits court determination.

“As stakeholders who have worked tirelessly for the success of the party at all levels in the past and recent elections and whose position on the Assembly crisis only seeks to entrench democracy, question a statement credited to the Publicity Secretary of the Party, Otaru Douglas describing Rt. Hon. Ogah Ogazi, the Speaker of the 7th Assembly, his principal officers and other stakeholders of the party as rebels and unrecognized members of the party.”

The statement said further, “The same Otaru who in his opinion, best described the Ogazi led principal officers as rebels and unrecognized members of the APC in the state, is one person who the party considers as worthless and with no electoral value to add to the system, hence his clear exclusion from the recent caucus meeting. There has never been a Caucus Meeting of a party without its Spokesman. The APC has clearly dumped the noise maker who has never won elections in his own polling unit.

“Undoubtedly, Otaru’s public outpour is borne out of his overzealousness and certainly represents his personal opinion. It’s most likely not the position of our party in the state, which has since given way for the law courts to determine the issues while deploying diplomacy revolving around the warring factions.

“On the few sponsored endorsements in the state by some self-serving persons, it is morally right to say that those who have stood in the way of fair play, can never stand on the side of justice. The vote of confidence passed by a few self-acclaimed Akwanga APC stakeholders led by Kwanta Yakubu and the unfortunate Assembly Member, Larry Ven-Bawa on Speaker Balarabe, speaks volume of their ignorance of our extant laws.”